Looks Lousy

D

dasonras

Well-known member
I just finished a 20 minute short that i was DOP for. When editing on the pc it looks beautiful. However, now that i have authored a dvd and watched on a television, it LOOKS LIKE VIDEO. The whole film look is gone. However, i noticed that it DID look like film in some scenes. My question is, what makes the dvx deliver a more film effect. Is it the lighting? The Iris? The shutter? What are some tips?

Anyways, here is how the film was edited:

Edit in Avid Xpress Pro w/out mojo.
Encoded on Sorenson Squeeze.
Authored to DVD using Sonic ReelDVD.

Now, i am mostly fimiliar with 16mm film cameras. I noticed that when using a shutter speed of 1/500 on the dvx, the image is jittery and looks very much like 16mm film. So, my guess is that the shutter speed has a dramatic impact of the 'film look'.
 
Re: Looks Lousy

Geeze - this is such a huge topic I don't even know where to start! Barry's book (advertised on this site) has a lot of answers, but here's some basics IMHO:
- you need to shoot like it's film (i.e., quality lighting, slow pan, etc.)
- 24p
- 16:9
- shallow DOF

(gosh I ran out of time - more later)
 
Re: Looks Lousy

time for one more quick comment - perhaps the "jittery feel of film" is more a function of 24p
 
Re: Looks Lousy

[quote author=dasonras link=board=news;num=1109978158;start=0#0 date=03/04/05 at 15:15:58]I noticed that when using a shutter speed of 1/500 on the dvx, the image is jittery and looks very much like 16mm film. So, my guess is that the shutter speed has a dramatic impact of the 'film look'. [/quote]

I dont have DVX but i know that you can get that jittery look, mostly seen in Busta Rymes videos but cranking up the shutter speed. I like to use a shutter speed of 30. The reason for that is that it gives a SLIGHT bit of motion blur on things in motion. Since my camera doesnt have 24p or those cine like gamma curves, I must rely on these things:

-lower shutter speed.
-using the ND filter and opening up the apeture to get a
more shallow DoF appearance
-using lighting to my advantage to make more of a cinematic
feel
-apply plugins like Magic Bullet to aid in a more professional polished look
- Good audio.
 
Re: Looks Lousy

Are we talking *Jittery* as in 24 frames per second with a 1/48th shutter like how film captures images, or *Jittery* as in a "Staccato" type of effect like 28 days later, etc. I read that you can achieve that by cranking up the Shutter speed to about 1/250 or 1/500, but it requires more light. You should get a slight film-like jitter when paning if you are using 24p. I read all this from previous posts so I'm pretty sure it should all be right. ~reservoir~
 
Re: Looks Lousy

Basically, if you shoot in 24P, with a 1/50 shutter, with cinegamma, you'll have something that looks very similar to FILM.

If you want it to look like a MOVIE, you need to light it, add art direction, and make sure it's composed nicely, and if there are any camera motions, they stay smooth. Remember, there's a reason professionals are what they are - it's hard to make something look good!
 
Re: Looks Lousy

^^Yes, 1/250 or 1/500 gives a nice motion blur. However, i find that it looks excellent when playing it on a computer and camera, but when viewing on a crt television...it looks completely different. Am i doing something wrong when authoring the dvd?

Secondly....I always like to shoot with the iris open so that i can achieve a shallow dof. However to avoid overexposure, is it better to use the ND filter or a faster shutter speed?
 
Re: Looks Lousy

It shouldn't be any different than were a film camera to use the same exposure time. The issue wouldn't be there, if you're shooting in 24P
 
Re: Looks Lousy

Mike_Donis - well put.

dasonras - if you want to keep iris open for shallow DOF then yes, use ND to get correct exposure. If you zebra around 80% or so it will help
 
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